Alabama

Hindu astronomy traces wonder of heavens (LifePoints)

On April 20, 2011, the Hubble Space Telescope captures a group of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The larger of the spiral galaxies, known as UGC 1810, has a disk that is tidally distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813. A swath of blue jewels across the top is the combined light from clusters of intensely bright and hot young blue stars. The smaller, nearly edge-on companion shows distinct signs of intense star formation at its nucleus, perhaps triggered by the encounter with the companion galaxy. Arp 273 lies in the constellation Andromeda, roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth. Ancient priests read divine messages in the patterns in the sky. (AP Photo/NASA)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Hindu astronomy is one of the ancient astronomical systems of the world.

Early cultures in India identified celestial objects with gods and spirits. They related these objects and their movements to phenomena such as rain, drought, seasons and tides. It is generally believed that the first "professional" astronomers were priests, and that their understanding of the "heavens" was seen as "divine," hence astronomy's ancient connection to what is now called astrology.

Hindu contributions in the field of astronomy are well known and well documented. The earliest references to astronomy are found in the scriptures of the Rig Veda and Yajurveda, which are dated prior to 2000 b.c.e.

During next 2500 years, by 500 c.e., ancient Hindu astronomy has emerged as an important part of Indian studies. Its effect is also seen in several treatises of that period. One of the early texts by Lagadha dated to 1568 b.c.e., contains the application of geometry and trigonometry for astronomical calculations.

Apart from this linkage of astronomy with astrology in ancient India, science of astronomy continued to develop independently. Vedic altars which symbolized the equivalence of macrocosms and the microcosms also represented the astronomical knowledge of the time.

The ancients knew about the roundness of the earth. In "Aryabhateeya," written by the well known fifth century astronomer Aryabhatta, we read: "The earth situated in the middle of the heaven and composed of five elements, is spherical in shape."

Varahamihira, a well-known fifth century mathematician, had claimed for the first time that there should be a force which might be keeping bodies stuck to the Earth, and also keeping heavenly bodies in their determined places. He is also said to be the first person to identify Jupiter. An ancient priest, Gargya, was the first enumerator of constellations and divided the zodiacal belt into 27 equal parts.

The number 108 is very auspicious for Hindus. It is the number of beads of a rosary and of many other things in Indian cosmology. Indians took this to be the distance between the earth and the sun in sun-diameter units and the distance between the earth and the moon in moon-diameter units. This also happens to be one-hundredth the number of muhurtas (time unit equals 48 minutes) in a year.

It would be surprising for us to know today that this science had advanced to such an extent in ancient India that ancient Indian astronomers had recognized that stars are same as the sun, that the sun is center of the solar system and that the circumference of the Earth is 5,000 Yojanas (length unit equals 4.5 miles).

Bryan Bacon / The Huntsville TimesDr. Narayana Bhat

Hindu astronomers knew the precession of the equinox, the earth's self-support in space the revolution of the moon on her axis, her distance from the earth, the dimensions of the orbits of the planet and the calculation of the eclipses. In some instances, astronomical principles were borrowed to explain matters, pertaining to astrology, like casting of a horoscope.

"LifePoints" runs most Fridays to feature inspiration and instruction from local faith leaders.

Dr. Narayana P. Bhat is secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama, near the intersection of Old Railroad Bed and Capshaw roads in Capshaw. http://www.hccna.org/. Prayers most weekday mornings and weekends. He can be reached at babu0908@yahoo.co.in.